For all of that pomp and circumstance surrounding Schaub's Bay Area arrival, the Raiders' contractual commitment of only one guaranteed year belies the outward confidence.

What are the chances that the general manager who swung and missed on Matt Flynn and Tyler Wilson last season has knocked one out of the park with the Schaub acquisition?

Let's take a deeper look at the latest in the conga line of quarterbacks trotted out by the Raiders since Rich Gannon's MVP season over a decade ago.

What Schaub was in his prime

Slipping to the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft, Schaub was never viewed as a major arm talent. His Texans career was bolstered by Gary Kubiak's play-action offense with a zone-run foundation and solid protection.

Like all but the best NFL quarterbacks, Schaub had to be "manipulated" by a passing scheme and play-calling tailored to his strengths.

It's unfair to simplify Schaub as a glorified game manager during his glory days. Although he rarely tested defenses outside the hash marks, Schaub stuck throws into tight spaces over the middle, mastered the play-action fake, made smart decisions, showed consistent accuracy and even displayed a modicum of mobility.

Buoyed by bootlegs and a strong rushing attack, Schaub was particularly excellent on first downs. Prior to the 2013 season, Schaub earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods -- including a Pro Bowl MVP -- and was annually among the league leaders in yards per attempt, completion percentage and passer rating.

What Schaub is at this stage of his career

Although there were late 2012 whispers that a hidden injury might be the root cause of Schaub's precipitous decline, the game film reveals no smoking gun.

There might just be a canary in the coal mine, though, dating back to Thanksgiving of the 2012 season.

His struggles began shortly after uncorking a whopping 103 passes in back-to-back overtime victories over a five-day span in November. Schaub soon began playing without confidence in his arm or in his pass protection.

Check out the two underthrown play-action bombs in the video to the right. After Vontae Davis intercepted a dying quail intended for James Casey in Week 17, that weapon left Schaub's arsenal rarely to be seen again.

No longer standing in against the pass rush, Schaub started bailing in the pocket while falling into the habit of checking down horizontally as opposed to testing defenses vertically.

Entering his first career playoff game against the Bengals in early January, Schaub acknowledged to sideline reporter Alex Flanagan that he had been pressing, thinking too much and afraid to make a mistake. "His goal today is just to cut it loose," Flanagan summarized.

The chickens finally came home to roost over the next month. Schaub was facing defenses armed with film study that showed evidence of a quarterback unwilling to throw beyond sticks.

With cornerbacks sitting on his checkdowns and out routes, Schaub set the ignominious NFL record for pick sixes in consecutive games.

ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski was moved to label Schaub a "broken quarterback" who was "seeing ghosts" in the pocket.

Turning on the lone successful QB in franchise history, fans began harassing Schaubat his home. Shortly thereafter, the Texans "faithful" even cheered an ugly ankle injury that left Schaub writhing in pain.

The consequent benching in favor of third-stringer Case Keenum exposed the ultimate juxtaposition of a brash, young gunslinger versus a feckless, diminished washout.

What the Raiders can expect from Schaub

For the first time in his career as an NFL starter, Schaub will be operating outside the cozy confines of Kubiak's offense that emphasized the quarterback's strengths and limited his weaknesses.

Adding to the difficulty factor: a reconstructed offensive line that has never played together, a running-back tandem that has combined to average an ineffectual 3.5 yards per carry over the past two seasons and a receiving corps that lacks a go-to target of Andre Johnson's caliber.

More than ever before, the deck is stacked against Schaub.

It's perhaps no coincidence that Warner doesn't view 2013 as the end of the line for the new Raiders leader.

Among established, franchise-caliber quarterbacks of the past two decades, Warner is the exception to the rule that there is no coming back from an in-season benching for performance reasons.

Dislocated left shoulder; concussion; ankle; hip and lower back injuries

2007

One of the most battered field generals of the past decade, Schaub has accumulated serious foot, ankle, knee, shoulder, rib and head injuries. He even lost a piece of his ear on a devastating hit in 2012.

Like a punchdrunk boxer who still sees openings but can no longer exploit the sucker for a left hook, shellshocked signal-callers ultimately suffer from that split-second when they stop pulling the trigger on an open window.

When the end came for Elvis Presley, Forrest Gump explained, "Well, he sung too many songs, had himself a heart attack or something."

When the final bell sounds for the quarterback, he gets benched, traded and degraded.

In the latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys continue the offseason Roster Reset series by breaking down the NFC West and AFC South.